Fodor’s Travel Feature – Get Drunk, Save The Princess – International Barcade Guide – 2017

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Want to know the lay of the land from high tech e-sport meltdowns to beer-soaked nerd caves? Well look no further. Ready Player One!  Today’s arcades, or “barcades,” are experiencing a 21st-century renaissance, with venues popping up all over the world, from Taipei to Tokyo and Warsaw to Washington state.

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Barcade

WHERE: Brooklyn, New York

Barcade is to arcade game bars as Kleenex is to tissue paper. The four founding friends literally “coined” the coin-op-rooted term in 2007 when it was registered for trademark. The machines here are token-based, each one a quarter a pop. The beer flows aplenty, with special craft brewery nights and 25 rotating daily taps, but the food options are limited to basic snacks. However, Barcade is happy to offer a binder full of options that deliver in the neighborhood.

Continue? Gaming Bar and Bistro

WHERE: Taipei, Taiwan

Located in one of the world’s computer chip-manufacturing hubs, Continue? Gaming Bar is taking gaming social in Taipei. A bistro menu with clever section titles like “Multi Player” serves Italian and American foods (with a Taiwanese touch), sometimes tricky to find in the Asian island nation. Cocktails have fun names like Slime Paradise or Chinese Paladin Ice Tea. The passionfruit- and lychee-liqueur Pikachu Thunderbolt is to be quaffed with caution.

Meltdown

WHERE: Paris, France

Meltdown, or “Le Melt,” is the product of a culture without a clear distinction between geeks and jocks. Meltdown bars (they’re internationally licensed) have free and easy access to computers souped up with Alienware chips, Logitech sound, and the hottest games, fueled by all the Monster Energy drinks and alcohol you can guzzle. Settle into a bloody match of DOTA or Starcraft II, or tune into the big screens and see how the pros do it.